Zane had been observing the rest of his teammates, the guilt which he shared with them was hard to deal with, especially Jay. Jay, the man had proved to be a total enigma to his servers, very chipper and happy when in other people's presence but when he thought nobody was looking his eyes would show a glint of pain and utter helplessness. It was concerning.

Following his instinct - or programming, at this point he learned to not question it - he had started to investigate and analyze his behavior. Though, any time he was even close to shedding light onto even a bit of the mystery Jay would dance around the issue or cover the crack with both glitter and tape.

It was utterly frustrating but he learned to not push the mechanic if things got too raw. He had discussed this with Kai, not understanding if it was just him over-analyzing and the fire user had reassured him that was how Jay had always been. Strangely, that never reassured him.

There was something going on and he was going to find out.

________________________________

The thumping lights of the club aggravated Jay's head and the loud music made his head throb, he massaged the back of his neck in pain before just sucking it up. They flashed their ID at the bodyguards who let them pass without any issues.

Lloyd walked at the front, joking around with Cole, Nya and Zane while he trailed behind with a light grin, Kai was right next to him, looking alert. Jay jabs an elbow into his shoulder. "Hey, what's got your panties in a twist?" He teased, unconsciously getting equally as conscious in the large, crowded building.

"Nothing much, just looking for the cute ladies." He shrugged, nonchalant. The fire ninja also spread a fake smile on his face in which they both recognized. Jay drops his and Kai follows suit with a sigh and a frown, his eyes now showed how torn he was.

"What's going on man?" Jay asked, finally getting to the casual area which was relatively quieter. They both noticeably relaxed their postures, the others split off into pairs to mingle and they made their way to the bar in the corner of the room.

"Skylar and I have been in a bit of a tough patch in our relationship and I have no idea how to fix it." Kai explains with a crestfallen expression while sitting down on a stool, his shoulders slumping down as he massaged the bridge of his nose. Jay slid into his own chair and put up a finger and leaned over to the bartender who seemed to just be wiping down a shot-glass.

"Hey, can I get two fireballs please?" He requests, they hurried to pour both men the drinks. "Thanks." He says and gives him a couple of bucks, he slides one of the fireballs over to the fire ninja who grabs it and glances up, giving him a nod in appreciation.

Jay picks up his own drink and holds it up. "To dating." He cheered, Kai let out a small smile and they touch glasses before taking a large sip. "So, what's she pissed about?" Kai seemed surprised at the assumption before sadly smiling, right on the nose.

"She's angry I haven't been spending a lot of time with her recently with all the training and working on my bike after what happened. We had an argument a few days ago." After the explanation he sipped the fireball between his rough fingertips again.

"I can't really give you much advice besides the fact that you gotta let her be angry. An angry woman is the equivalent to being surrounded by hungry sharks and you would be better off with the sharks. You can do what you feel is needed, after all I don't know Skylar as well as you do." Jay advised, taking a sip of his own drink after his statement, shrugging his shoulders.

"I mean, I guess I'll let her blow off steam for a few more days before going back to talk about it. I mean, she does realize she could go over to the Bounty when we're here, right?" Kai questioned, his expression showing frustrated disbelief. "True."

"Though let's change the subject, its too depressing." The fire ninja chuckled, raising his head and looking at the bottles lining the wall. "Before we do, just wanted to say. You can trust me man, I'll try to help as much as I can. I'll be your wingman." Jay reassured, slinging an arm on Kai's broad shoulders.

"Appreciate it, motormouth." He snorted. "Hey." He cried out indignantly with a smile, taking the joke. He lightly shoved his friend in the shoulder who started to laugh at the light push. They talked for a while, joking and drinking lightly - though neither desired to get drunk so they were careful of how much they drank - Jay was glad he talked to Kai and felt his heart slightly mend from Cole's absence.

________________________________

Kai liked talking with Jay, they both respected each other's raw subjects and joked around a lot. He regretted that he had pushed the blue ninja away so much in the earlier stages of their friendship but now he wants to make up for it.

"So, this one time when I was with my dad, we had gone out into the desert, it was hot as hell and I would barely see with how soggy my hair was. I was fifteen at this point and moody. We were looking for this one place my dad had found a few days earlier that apparently had a ton of mechanical parts I would love. Did I mention we had brought a tow truck? No? Well we did and-" Kai relaxed at the chatter that his friend provided, it was very much entertaining until he looked behind Jay and glanced behind him.

Jay had his back to most of the room except him and the corner, catching eyes of somebody with green eyes with matching hazel brown and green hair. The guy wore a red scarf and white tank, he couldn't see below his torso due to Jay's position but he seemed to be glaring at them both with the rage of a thousand suns. He suddenly refocuses on Jay who now held a concerned expression.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, concerned and Kai blinks, processing the question. "Yeah, sorry. I spaced out." He apologized, Jay suddenly grins. "It's alright, it happens to me sometimes too." Kai scratches the back of his neck with a small grimace, looking slightly sheepish. "Still, sorry."

"Eh, it's fine, want a drink?" He offered and he nodded, sliding him five bucks, he looked at him with a confused stare.

"Let me pay for this round."

"Sure."

Jay then moved his torso, leaning onto the bar to call out to the bartender and speak with him. Kai took his chance and tried to look back at where the dude was earlier only to find that he was now moving towards them both, revealing that he was glaring at Jay's back.

He got on the defensive, catching Jay's attention. The blue ninja saw that he was looking at somebody, Jay followed his protective gaze only to find this dude that was standing only two feet away and glaring at him. Kai stuck a hand on the bar, catching the empty shot-glass between his fingers, ready to throw it if the stranger got aggressive.

The brunette slid into the stool on the other side of Jay, placing him between them both. 'Coward.' He seethed inwardly, Jay spun around but kept his torso facing the bar so that Kai could clearly see the guy.

The lightning ninja's face held confusion as he analyzed his appearance, seemingly racking his brain as to why he seemingly hated him so much. "Hey Walker, it seems you finally made a friend after all this time." The stranger spoke in his raspy voice, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand. "I must admit, I'm surprised."

The voice seemed to ring familiarity to Jay and his face now showed slight alarm and his skin turned pale. Kai felt protectiveness wash over him for his brother and he placed his hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that he had backup.

"What would you know Thornton? You didn't have any friends, or at least, any that actually stuck around." He bit back, Kai felt relieved he was he with him and not at the other side of the place, he looked around while listening to see if anyone would speak between the two men. He caught a glimpse of Lloyd who was with Zane, they looked relatively sober while looking at his sister and Cole he noticed Nya was slightly tipsy, moving side by side.

If this guy did anything then he knew Lloyd, Cole and Zane would back him up. He turned his attention to the two men in front of him, Thornton, whoever he was looked one straw away from lunging at Jay who seemed to be mortified but putting up a brave front.

"I'm betting that as soon as you're useless to them they'll throw you out on the street like an unwanted dog. Even if they did care, they wouldn't be able to save you from me, after all, you brought me down, but you're coming with me." The guy hissed. "And I don't see why they already tolerate you motormouth." Thornton dramatically stood up from his seat and started to walk away, his shoulders tense and ready to spring to attack.

"At least he isn't like you, asshole." Kai called out, not being able to hold back the remark. The douche-bag stopped but made no move to move back towards them. "You'll regret even meeting that boy in the future Kai Smith." Then took off again without looking back. He wasn't fazed at the threat and instead looked back at Jay who was now shaking.

Kai swears he would tear that dude apart if he ever saw him near Jay again.

_____________________________

It had taken a while to coax Jay out of the stool and into the bathroom after that entire ordeal, he had to speak to the bartender - who had seen what happened - and tell him that if he saw that douche-bag to tell him that he would give the guy a knuckle sandwich if he messed with them again. The dude was okay with it.

Jay was shaking in the bathroom and his breathing was very shallow, it was clear that he and this Thornton had a really bad past with one another but he wasn't going to push him just like he didn't push about other subjects they had talked about earlier.

"Jay, Jay breathe." Kai insists, pulling him into the large disabled stall so they could get some privacy. "Come on Jay, breathe. Copy my breathing." He exaggerates his breathing. "That's it, in and out. Can I touch you?" Even though Jay was shaking he nodded, struggling to copy his breathing. Kai plants his hands on his shoulders gently to be able to lock eyes.

"Four in. One, two, three four. Hold for seven. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Out for eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight." It took encouragement and time but after a few minutes he was able to calm down immensely. "S-Sorry." Jay stuttered, avoiding looking into his eyes. Kai backed off to try and make him comfortable, assuming he was embarrassed. "It's alright dude, trust goes both ways."

Kai was curious of who he was and why he had set Jay off so badly but he didn't want to pry. Jay opened his mouth to explain -not even under Kai's request- only to hear the door of the bathroom open. An ominous set of footsteps approached the stalls and both men tensed at the intrusion.

The door of the first stall opened, then the second, then the third only to reach where they were. They were frozen, trying not to make any noise. A set of boots faced the door and the door moved but didn't give, it seemed that Jay had locked the door when he had gotten them both in.

Kai's breathing hitched in anticipation, leaning to get closer to the door but not daring to take another step, ready to put all his weight on the entrance to keep it closed. Kai saw Jay shift to mimic his position, even if he was a bit further in the stall. His gaze trailed to the slit between the floor and the frame, his heart beating with adrenaline, clenching his fist and ready to swing.

"Kai." He heard Jay keen, he snapped his gaze towards the blue ninja who pointed towards the boots which now had moved, seeming as if ready to kick the door down. They both rushed in unison, pressing themselves against the cyan coloured wood which retaliated with force, nobody cared about noise at this point. The stranger kicked again, knocking Kai on his ass while Jay managed.

Seeing that this method wasn't working he kicked at the boots from under the slit which didn't seem to be fazed. "Come up here and help me." Jay demanded, sounding out of breath. "Who the fuck are you?!" Kai shouted, getting up and bracing his weight.

The attack stopped and the lightning ninja stumbled back, Kai could see his knees wobble in slight exhaustion, panic flashing in his sapphire eyes. The door creaked opening just slightly, hanging weakly from the frame, the person ripped down the door to reveal Thornton again. "What the fuck is your problem!" Kai shouted, now feeling angry at the fact that this guy found it fun to terrorise them.

He stepped forward towards the ginger without a word, his glare seeming crazy. "I know that you hate me Zeidon but fucking hell, you're not doing this to me again." Jay hissed, readying a fighting stance. Thornton started to laugh maniacally, swinging back and forth on his two feet as if taunting them that they couldn't punch him yet as he hadn't made any act to actually hurt them. "Oh, as if you have a choice."

Kai's chest squeezed, seeing an opening to slip away and get help. 'No, I'm not leaving Jay alone with this psychopath.' He determined, readying himself to fight. Zeidon seemed to calculate his chances in his head before lunging at Jay, grabbing the collar of his white shirt and cocking his fist. Kai grabbed his hand and the guy turned his head to glare at the fire ninja. The ginger started to use his spinjitzu, flinging him off and throwing him out of the stall.

Kai ran out with Jay on his heels, Zeidon was on the floor and he stood up, coming after Kai this time. Jay tackled him to the sinks before he could lay a finger on him, the stranger flips their positions and sticks the lightning ninja's head in one of the sinks, turning it on. Kai sprints to pull him off but the guy kicks him making him have to jump back and dodge. Thornton grabbed the hood of Jay's jacket and tied it to the faucet while the hothead got his bearings, impressively landing a punch on the blue ninja's stomach even though it was trapped between the marble and his victim's figure,

     His sight faded from cyan and white and developed into tunnel vision, coating everything in distinct shades of red and came at the brunette who jumped back from Jay. Both had a few moments of trying to attack and defend, looking like they were comically dancing while Jay casually drowned in the background before he threw out a punch in which the enemy ducked under, going for the door. His fist landed on the faucet holding Jay under making him wince in pain but it effectively broke the apparatus from the fake, cheap marble, letting the blue ninja free himself. The guy fled, leaving the bathroom in a hurry and Kai almost gave chase if it weren't for the wheezing that Jay produced with his breathing.

"Let's get you up." He grunted, heaving the blue ninja who was having a bit of trouble breathing from the inhaling. His face and hair was soaking wet, scattering droplets of water across the floor and on Kai but he didn't mind, only slinging the ginger's arm over his shoulder to get him out of there.

They collectively braced themselves when they were about to leave the bathroom, readying themselves for a bar fight if it were to happen. Jay kicked open the door and they rushed to leave, glancing around to see if Zeidon had been waiting for them. The area was clear but it didn't mean they were safe, their converse and boots slapped against the carpeted floor, muffling their sounds.

Kai looked over to Jay, observing him for a second. The blue ninja's clothes had essentially been ruined, the white shirt was slightly see through and just barely presented his chiseled abs, the jacket was both lightly wet and torn, the hood still had the faucet that had been pulled entangled in its folds. His charmingly curtly and messy hair had been ruined, flattened down to his skull and darkened, droplets flying from him with each ragged breath he took. His eyes were the most prominent feature, fear and anger dancing in a way he had never seen before, he scanned their surroundings anxiously, paranoid for another attack.

          He couldn't help but ask, ignoring the confused glances that they received for their appearances. "What the hell is with that guy?" Jay couldn't hide the wince, probably due to remembering their history. He shuddered. "It's nothing." He deadpanned, dodging a drunk couple on their way to Lloyd and Zane. "That ain't a nothing I've ever seen Jay." He retorts, lightly bitter that he didn't trust him with the information about who just threatened both of them.

        "I said it's nothing." He insisted a little louder, his gaze snapping towards his teammate, Kai gave him a sharp big brother glare. Jay glanced around in fear again. "N-not right now Kai, at least not in public." His stutter made the fire ninja's heart squeeze in fear of what that guy might've done to one of his chosen family members. "Alright." He gives in, squeezing his shoulder and giving him a small smirk in which the blue ninja reciprocates before coughing up some water.

         They finally made it to Lloyd and Zane. "Guys!" Kai calls out, they turn to him and their casual expressions turn to horror. Jay's knees seemed to buckle under him, adrenaline now gone from the previous altercation, speaking of that, his hand hurt now. Lloyd rushed to his aid, firmly placing his hands on his chest to keep Jay upright before slinging Jay's other arm over his shoulder."What happened?" Zane questioned, turning his attention to Kai.

       "No time. We gotta leave." Kai urged, lugging Jay over with Lloyd's help over to his sister and her boyfriend. "We need to go." Lloyd yells, catching their attention, before the two could ask they skirt past the couple, forcing them to follow or be left behind. People only stared as they fled the scene though many were either too drunk to either notice or care and the bouncers eyed them with suspicion.

Yup, this night took a turn.